


Gingerbread Men & Fairy Lights

by plastic_cello



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Holiday Cheer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 17:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plastic_cello/pseuds/plastic_cello
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So long as Loki was happy though, that was all that mattered to Bucky. Like any boyfriend worth a damn, he just wanted his significant other to be happy; even if it meant being forced to spend his day off trimming the Christmas tree, stringing up lights, watching holiday cartoons, and decorating gingerbread men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gingerbread Men & Fairy Lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Incubigirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incubigirl/gifts).



> This is for Viv, who wanted some Winterfrost fluff; I tried my best!

* * *

 

 

 

Bucky balanced haphazardly on top of the footstool, as he placed the gold star at the very top of the Christmas tree. Once he slipped it into position, he withdrew his hand, and spied the decoration warily. It didn't shift has he feared it would, nor did it tumble off and cause a chain reaction of festive mayhem either.

"Hey Loki," he called. "Come here; tell me if this is straight or not."

There wasn't an immediate reply, though. Loki had taken refuge in the kitchen, determined to tackle gingerbread. In between the snarls of annoyance and banging of pots and pans, Bucky suspected his first few attempts hadn't been exactly successful. But he also hadn't smelled anything burning or had been bowled over by the smoke alarm; so he didn't have any cause for concern. Not yet anyway.

Loki was precise enough to divert disaster, regardless of not being an able chef. Neither of them was really; Bucky still didn't understand why Loki had wanted a house with a gourmet kitchen, when they rarely used anything beyond the microwave the majority of the time.

"Come tell me if this is straight or not!" He raised his voice. "Because once I get off this footstool, I am not getting back up here to adjust it; no matter how much you bitch about it!"

"I'm busy!" Loki returned haughtily.

"You're so busy that you'd be fine with your family seeing our dilapidated star?" Bucky peered in the direction of the kitchen. "What would your mother the homemaker think?"

Just as he suspected, his words had the desired effect. Several cringe-worthy clatters and bangs sounded, before Loki emerged from the doorway. Flour streaked one of Loki's cheeks and some even had gotten into his hair; the apron wrapped tightly around his lithe form had fared far worse, though. Clutched possessively in one of his hands was a cookie cutter, as if he wanted nothing more than to use it as a weapon for being drawn away from the kitchen.

Bucky hardly flinched; he was already used to Loki's ire. When he had initially been exposed to Loki's awful temperament, he had been surprised by it. But after seven years, he took it all with a grain of salt.

"Move it to the left, only a bit; don't go overboard." Loki motioned into the direction he indicated, and Bucky was quick to do as he said. "There, no too far; back a little. Just a little, James; do you know what a little is?"

"Oh, I know what a little is; my patience is at a little right now, if you want me to be honest."

"You're the one who called me out here."

"Not for the attitude, sweetheart," Bucky scowled, as he shifted the star once more; mindful of not going too far back to the right. "Better, worse, or just right?"

"Just a tad more to the right, yes right _there._ " Loki nodded in approval, before he stepped nearer; right beside the footstool.

On closer inspection, Bucky noticed the extent of flour on Loki's person. His fingers were coated in a heavy dusting of powder, and there was a streak on the underside of his chin too. It was oddly endearing, especially with how fervent Loki had been about trying to bake in the first place.

For whatever reason, Loki had wanted to master the baking art. Bucky suspected it had to do with the Odinson family tradition. The matriarch of the family was known for her holiday cheer, which included gingerbread men and sugar cookies and every imaginable tooth decaying confection known to man. And well, to be honest Frigga Odinson had expressed her disapproval by their household's lack of Christmas enthusiasm many times in the past.

Bucky didn't necessarily see the point in tradition. Then again, he had been orphaned by four months old and had lived in and out of foster homes for the better portion of his life. None of which had exactly welcomed him as a permanent fixture in their family. So the appeal hadn't really been relatable to him, even when he had met the Odinson family.

"You've done a lovely job trimming the tree." Loki said, as he shifted his gaze to the plastic evergreen that had been bedecked to the nines with red and white garland, and rainbow colored fairy lights. "Truly better than any other year,"

"Well, it helped that I didn't have you breathing down my neck." Bucky grinned, unable to stop himself from beaming with pride due to the praise he received. "It does look pretty good for someone without the holiday spirit."

A genuine smiled slid seamlessly onto Loki's lips, which he presented to Bucky with a tilt of his head. Despite standing dangerously on top of the footstool, Bucky leaned down and pecked him softly and caught a whiff of vanilla and sugar, and every other baking ingredient on his boyfriend's apron and skin.

"Perhaps your heart grew three sizes this day."

"Oh god; how long have you've waited to say that?" Bucky kissed Loki again, before he stepped down onto level ground.

His height advantage had all but dissipated now, although he wasn't given the opportunity to bask in Loki's presence any longer. His boyfriend shifted away to return to the kitchen; so that left Bucky to return to the decorating process. There were still many decorations to be put up, and really give the living room the impression that Christmas had vomited on every square inch of the space.

He had already done a number on the foyer, and had even strung lights around the greater portion of the kitchen, hallway, and formal dining room. So he was eighty percent done; unless, of course, Loki decided to buy some more festive pieces to fill their house with. But it was already way too excessive for Bucky's taste.

That, however, didn't stop him from crouching beside one of the large totes close-by, and rummaging through the items still left to be put up. There were several finely wrapped items in newspaper; ceramic reindeer and Santa Claus figurines that were meant to decorate the fireplace mantle and nearby side tables.

Stripping away the paper of one item, Bucky studied a pot-bellied Saint Nick with a toy sack across one shoulder. The piece looked fairly old, probably a knick-knack passed down through the Odinson family in order to invoke the holiday cheer into whoever's hands it fell into. Unfortunately, it didn't invoke much of anything in Bucky; beyond his desire to finish the task at hand as quickly as humanly possible.

He stood back up and headed towards the fireplace that had been divested of its everyday trinkets. With a bit of consideration, he slipped the Santa Claus figurine onto the left side of the mantle, before he went back to retrieve the reindeer and snowman alike; which he positioned on the other end of the mantle, in order to spare room for the centerpiece made of plastic holly and poinsettia with white candles wound around it in the middle.

Sometime amid his endless decorating, Bucky switched on the television to provide some much needed background noise. Unsurprisingly, the channel he landed on was already running classic Christmas specials. Frosty the Snowman was midway through already, although Bucky paid it very little attention aside from a sideways glance from time to time.

He had moved onto hanging the stockings, after he draped another string of fairy lights around the length of the mantle. It didn't look too shabby, but it remained to be seen if it would pass the Loki test. Much of his work had been dissected and rearranged by Loki, until it finally met his approval. That was fine and dandy, so long as Bucky wasn't forced to do it himself.

Just as he considered calling out to Loki, to see if he wanted to him to hang any further lights around the rest of the room or maybe even add another bit of garland; Bucky was struck by a heavenly aroma. He sniffed the air several times, as if to pin down the scent to memory. No less, to puzzle out what the smell was.

It only took a few moments to discern what it was, which brought a smile to his face. Loki had been successful in his attempt to master gingerbread, and boy did it smell homey and delightful too. He could only imagine, Loki was keeping an eye on the oven like a hawk to ensure that it would stay that way.

"Smells delicious," Bucky called out, before taking possession of a string of lights; which he proceeded to disentangle with careful hands. "I knew you could do it."

"You hadn't any faith in me at all." Loki answered with a chuckle.

"Well, you aren't exactly domestic. The last time I ate a home cooked meal was at Steve's."

"I'm not your stay at home wife, James."

"Too bad; you look excellent in an apron." He grinned wider. "By the way, do you want more lights or can I quit for the night?"

"More lights, always more lights; it'll give the room some extra pizzazz." Loki replied almost enthusiastically, which caused Bucky to roll his eyes.

Of course, he should have known that Loki would want even more lights strung about. There wouldn't be any way that his mother could argue they lacked the holiday spirit. Honestly, Bucky didn't know why it mattered so much to Loki. But like a properly whipped boyfriend, Bucky continued to untangle the lights; before he draped them across the sofa, and went to find his hammer and nails.

Once he located both, he moved the footstool to the closest wall, and hurriedly went to work. He hammered several nails into the wall, and quickly moved onto the next wall and eventually the next. He then retrieved the string of lights and began to drape them from nail to nail; half-listening to the noise from the kitchen and the nasally voice of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that replaced Frosty.

His eyes fell from the task at hand onto the flat-screen TV. The animated reindeer were clustered onto the snowy plane in the middle of leaping from one end of the screen to the other. He watched it for a few moments, only to refocus his attention back onto what he needed to accomplish.

"How wonderfully festive of you, James," Loki announced as he returned from the kitchen still covered in flour, but looking pleased with himself. Or maybe he actually liked how much effort Bucky had put into the decoration placement; god only knew.

"I bet you could find something worth picking at." He rolled his eyes again, as he continued to hang the lights from one nail to the next. "So you might as well crush my heart, and tell me what doesn't meet your approval."

"The lack of mistletoe for one,"

"We don't even have any. Besides what the hell is mistletoe anyway? Can you buy it fresh or do you traditionally buy it made out of plastic?"

"I haven't any complaints honestly; I cannot wait to see everything lit up. It'll look fantastic, no doubt."

"We'll see about that. I'll have to take your optimism with a grain of salt right now, though." He replied, before he climbed down from the footstool and moved it towards the parallel wall.

The reply he'd gotten in return was a scoff, which was stereotypical Loki. Seven years had given Bucky very detailed insight on every one of his boyfriend's quirks; which probably worked both ways. Not even Steve could read him as well as Loki could. And he suspected he was a certified Loki expert too.

"I'm going to check on my gingerbread; it should be done very soon. And once it cools, I'll recruit you to help me decorate the cookies." Loki said and exited the room once more.

With a disgruntled grunt, Bucky continued his work; although he should have figured that he'd be wrangled into even more work. Which made him question Loki's motives even more; he just hoped his significant other wasn't trying to give him the Christmas experience he never had when he was a kid.

Steve was the type who would have thrived in the holiday cheer (and he truly did nowadays). But Bucky had always been a pessimist at heart; worse than even Loki, who at least found some enjoyment in the lights and sounds that came with this time of the year.

So long as Loki was happy though, that was all that mattered to Bucky. Like any boyfriend worth a damn, he just wanted his significant other to be happy; even if it meant being forced to spend his day off trimming the Christmas tree, stringing up lights, watching holiday cartoons, and decorating gingerbread men.

When the lights had been put into place, Bucky hopped back onto the floor, and plugged them in. Much to his relief, they looked pretty good; he also had to admit, Loki was right – it did give the room the added pizzazz it wouldn't have had otherwise. In fact, it looked even more festive than the Odinson family home.

"Honey, you're going to love this. It looks like good 'ol Saint Nick took a shit all over the place. It's a total winter wonderland in here; all we need is a life-sized reindeer." He whistled in admiration of his work.

He didn't dawdle for very long, though. Instead Bucky moved to relocate the many plastic totes and move them back into the garage; before Loki could bitch at him to do it. Which led him past the kitchen, where the wonderful smells only increased a tenfold, and made Bucky's mouth water in appreciation.

Except he didn't make a beeline for the kitchen; not when he heard Loki shift noisily about, probably to pull the baked goods from the double ovens mounted on the wall. So Bucky busied himself with cleaning up the space, and putting everything that hadn't any place in the living room back to its rightful spot in storage.

By the time the room had been cleaned of any excess clutter, Loki had returned with a look of awe on his face. His eyes were lit up in pleasure, and danced as prettily as the fairy lights wrapped carefully around the plastic branches of the Christmas tree. Which truly made all the work seem worthwhile to Bucky, who hadn't gotten very much enjoyment from the entire process.

"You've truly outdone yourself, darling." Loki looked to him, then the empty hearth. "But a roaring fire would complete the picture perfectly."

"You are so lucky we have precut firewood, or else I would strangle you."

"If only we were born in a different era; I would love to see you go off to chop firewood."

"Too bad we weren't alive in the forties; the golden age!" Bucky swatted at Loki's bottom, as he walked past to build a fire. He should have anticipated for it, but he had completely overlooked that minor detail in favor of the lights instead.

Building the fire was fairly painless; Bucky had built many on particular frigid nights, so it only took a couple of minutes to stoke it, and for it roar to life. Which really did paint a pretty picture overall; the room looked especially nice, once Loki shut off the overhead lighting and the TV too. So only the fire and the fairy lights illuminated the space.

Bucky placed his hand onto his hips, and smiled in spite of himself. He couldn't exactly say he was enthused by the Christmas season, although he suspected this was the closest he'd get to it. Not that Loki would ever ask his opinion on the matter anyway.

"So the gingerbread smells excellent; I guess you perfected the recipe already."

"I didn't even burn one cookie." Loki swelled with pride, before he rounded the sofa and sat down. "Come now and sit with me; so you can truly admire your work."

"You mean before you'll enslave me to your Christmas bidding further." Bucky chuckled, as he collapsed onto cushion beside Loki. "Let's just hope those cookies take a while to cool off. I need at least twenty minutes without actively spreading the Christmas cheer."

"We'll have to address that dislike of yours towards the holiday season sometime soon. Mother will be flabbergasted by your loathing of it. I imagine she'll feel betrayed after all these years of knowing you."

"She was bound to find out eventually. There were only so many times you could tell her I was working on Christmas." He threw an arm around Loki's shoulders. "I'm surprised she believed that at all. I am a tattoo artist, after all."

Loki laughed in reply, as he rested his head on Bucky's shoulder. The position was comfy and made Bucky sink deeper into the sofa cushions. His eyes roved from one end of the room to the next; the space did look very nice. He especially liked how well the tree had come out, which was situated in front of the large bay window.

He suspected twenty years earlier, his pessimism and disinterest in Christmas would have been rectified by how picturesque the whole room looked. It looked like it had been ripped out of a home decorating magazine; or maybe even taken from one of those holiday specials played every year.

"You're rather handy. You have an eye for holiday decorating." Loki piped up with obvious mirth in his voice. "I think I will keep you, after all."

"You couldn't get rid of me anyway. My name's on the deed too."

"Oh, the travesty; but in the very least you've proven your worth. Mother cannot possibly complain that we aren't festive this year."

"Because who would want to be known as non-festive? Definitely not me,"

"Certainly not I either," Loki lifted his head, before he pressed a kiss to Bucky's lips.

The kiss was chaste and sweet; very much unlike most of their kisses. They had a tendency to be very passionate. Sometimes they kissed hastily too, whenever someone was running out the door or wanted to sneak a bit of affection without being caught in the act of doing so. But they rarely went for soft and gentle. And to be honest, Bucky liked how innocent and loving it felt.

"I really hope you aren't making me do this to boost my holiday cheer. I really won't appreciate it, you know." Bucky murmured against Loki's lips, although he found the twinkle in his boyfriend's eyes to be worth all the wasted time still.

"Now why would I ever care about that?" Loki grinned, only to hop back onto his feet. "You are just the cheapest labor I could find."

"Excuse you; I didn't know your ass was cheap. That's my boyfriend you're talking about." Bucky retorted and then took Loki's outstretched hand, before begrudgingly getting back onto his feet. "I guess this means the gingerbread has cooled off."

"Let's go check and see."

"So long as I don't have to wrap any presents or go shopping for that matter. Please, tell me there isn't any wrapping to be done yet."

"Maybe a few gifts,"

"Damn,"

"But if you're agreeable, I might allow you to open one gift tonight." Loki smirked at him, as he led him towards the entryway to the kitchen.

"I can live with that; let's decorate some cookies stat." Bucky swatted at Loki's bottom again; chuckling when he heard Loki's noise of disapproval.

He supposed Christmas wasn't _that_ bad. Even if he knew he'd regret that thought by January first, when he'd be forced to take everything down by himself. But for now, he could appreciate the atmosphere a little, and the promise of both gingerbread and the present at the end of the evening. Regardless of already knowing what he would be getting; he still considered it to be the best gift a guy could ever get.


End file.
